US state department insists arrest of New York diplomat will not damage 'strong partnership' with India

A day after India called the manner of arrest of its Deputy Consul General in New York "absolutely unacceptable", Washington attempted some damage control. The state department on Saturday insisted that its partnership with India would remain strong and expressed hope that the incident would not affect bilateral ties with New Delhi.

"We are handling this incident through law enforcement channels. We have a long-standing partnership with India, and we expect that the partnership will continue," a US state department spokesperson said.

The statement came after Devyani Khobragade, a 1999-batch IFS officer was hand-cuffed in public and taken into custody as she was dropping her daughter to school on charges of visa fraud.

Khobragade was later released on a $250,000 (Rs 1.55 crore) bond after pleading not guilty.

Khobragade's attorneys have emphasised that she has diplomatic immunity, whereas the federal law enforcement authorities have argued that her alleged visa fraud is not covered under the Vienna Convention.

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Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the Indian deputy consul general enjoys immunity from the jurisdiction of US courts only with respect to acts performed in the exercise of consular functions, the spokesperson said.

The arrest had come just a day after Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh had concluded her visit to Washington, prompting a diplomatic crisis on the back of what had appeared to be a successful trip to the US.

New Delhi lodged a strong protest against the manner of Khobragade's arrest, with its embassy in US saying: "It was conveyed in no uncertain terms that this kind of treatment to one of our diplomats is absolutely unacceptable."

The Charge d'affaires, Taranjit Singh Sandhu also met senior officials of the US state department over the issue after the Foreign Secretary urged US officials to resolve the matter at the earliest.

"It was emphasised that Dr Devyani Khobragade is a diplomat, who is in the US in pursuance of her duties and hence is entitled to the courtesy due to a diplomat in the country of her work, the embassy statement said.

"She is also a young mother of two children. India is shocked and appalled at the manner in which she has been humiliated by the US authorities," the embassy's statement said.